Colin Jackson is famed for his talents as a former Olympic sprinter and hurdler, claiming countless victories representing Great Britain and Wales. Specialising in 110m hurdles, Colin broke numerous world records and finished his sporting career with 12 gold, eight silver and one bronze medal. Since retiring from competing, Colin has enjoyed a successful career in presenting, sports management and has become a well-known face across the screens of British television. He is also now booked as a speaker for corporate events, discussing the skills he had to hone in order to become successful in his sporting career.
Best known for his talents as an athlete, Colin is famed for setting the World Record for Men’s 110m Hurdles, the European Record for Men’s 110m Hurdles and the Indoor World Record for Men’s 60m Hurdles. With his European record still standing today, Colin held his 60m record for almost 27 years. Other prominent wins of Colin’s include winning silver in the 110m hurdles at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, two gold and two silver medals representing Wales at the Commonwealth Games and several gold medals at World Championships and European Championships.
With his final gold medal claimed at the 2002 Munich European Championships, Colin ended his career after the 2003 World Indoor Championships. After his retirement from competing, Colin went into coaching and he began training Mark Foster, Timothy Benjamin and Rhys Williams. He was also sought to begin media work, acting as part of the BBC athletics coverage during the 2012 London Olympic Games and co-hosting Born to Win. He has since been the face of Raise Your Game with Colin Jackson, featured on Who Do You Think You Are?, co-hosted Sunday Life and appeared on The Making of Me. He has also been a contestant on programmes such as Celebrity Masterchef, Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing On Ice.
Colin has also been involved with charity work, creating his own fundraiser called Go Dad Run raising funds for Prostate Cancer UK and Bowel Cancer UK. He has also become the International Director and Brand Ambassador of Sport 4 Kids, helping to transform sport for children across the country and become the Chancellor of Wrexham Glyndwr University. During his sporting career, Colin claimed awards such as Men’s Athlete of the Year and he has also been appointed MBE, OBE and CBE, a testament to the impact he has had in sport.
With a successful sporting career and media career under his belt, Colin is now a popular choice as an after-dinner speaker or host for corporate events. Throughout his career, Colin was hounded by rumours surrounding his sexuality, and after many years of hiding his true self, Colin came out as gay in 2017 as part of a documentary called Rainbow Heros. When booked as a speaker, Colin is able to speak about his sexuality and how he found the courage to reveal his identity after years of living in fear of how it would impact his career. With previous speaking clients including General Electric and Lloyds TSB, Colin Jackson is the perfect speaker when looking for an inspirational sportsman or passionate diversity and inclusion advocate.
